20 AstraZeneca Preparation of doses

20 AstraZeneca

Preparation of doses

The AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine does not need to be diluted, please follow the instructions provided by IMAC. These instructions are included in vaccine shipments and available on the IMAC website. Note: These instructions are regularly updated. Please ensure you are using the most recent version.

Each multi-dose vial contains 10 doses of 0.5mL.

Once the vial is opened/punctured the AstraZeneca Vaccine can be stored at 2°C-8°C and must be used within 48 hours. Opened/punctured vials must be returned to the fridge. Any vaccine not used within this time period must be discarded. Vaccines should be prepared as close to administration as possible, ideally as needed.

If multiple vaccines are needed, there is an option to draw up several doses from the vial, but they must be used within 5 hours and can be stored either in the fridge or at room temp (max. of 30°C). Any vaccine not used within this time period must be discarded.

The AstraZeneca vaccine is fragile and must not be shaken during preparation. The AstraZeneca vaccine does not need to be at room temperature prior to administration. Some liquid may remain in the vial after withdrawing the final dose. The leftover vaccine must be discarded.

If during the preparation of the vaccine a foreign body (such as a black particle) or discolouration is identified, the vial should be discarded and recorded as an open vialquality issue in CIR.

Before preparation check: • it is the right vaccine • manufacturer’s vaccine expiry date

Number the vaccine vial and enter the number into the vaccine log. Second person also checks that the correct vaccine has been selected, by confirming the product name on the vial and checking the expiry date printed on vial by manufacturer. Second person also checks the numbering of the vial and documents these checks by signing/initialling the vaccine log.

For quality and safety purposes, it is recommended that each vial and/or syringes (made from that vial), are labelled with the: • date and time

• expiry time

Only draw up one vial at a time, each vaccine from that vial should go into one container with the original vial for vaccine delivery. Do not mix doses from different vials.

It is recommended that a suitable covering is used when storing the drawn up syringes. This is to ensure:

1. That at all times, the vaccine is not exposed to direct sunlight or UV light (both in the vial and in the drawn-up syringe). 2. To distinguish the used syringes from the unused syringes.

During the preparation of the vaccine standard local IPC policies should be followed.

20.1 Number of doses per vial

Incorrect volume of vaccine may be detected by identifying you have drawn up less or more than 10 from a vial. Should this occur, quarantine, and discard all doses from that vial. This error must be documented as waste in CIR and reported as an incident in the local organisation’s quality and safety reporting system.

The Vaccine Use and Waste Policy Statement Version 2.0 has been updated to reflect the introduction of AstraZeneca as a second line vaccine into the Programme and to record that the rate of wastage of AstraZeneca will be higher than for Pfizer.